Dissident Whispers with Jeremy Childrey

The cover of Dissident Whispers with a Black person smashing heir hand through glass.

I’m lucky enough to have today’s interview with Jeremy Childrey about Dissident Whispers, an anthology collection of 58 two-page adventures by diverse, international creators supporting the National Bail Fund Network.

Note: Today seems pretty packed with pics because this particular style of design and art appeals to me a lot, so please excuse this indulgence.

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Tell me a little about yourself and your work. What’s your background like and how has it led you to Dissident Whispers?

My name is Jeremy and I did the layout for ‘Hopebringer’ and ‘Rhemati’s Spring’ for DW.  I’ve been tabletop gaming for around 6-7 years and creating stuff for around 3 years. I am a Warden (moderator) on the Mothership discord and active in a few others. One day “Silver Goat” posted up a request seeking volunteers for a BLM project, as a mixed race man (black and white if it matters) who lives in a rural area I had been struggling to find my place in the protests, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get involved.

The interior of Dissident Whispers, on the pages for Hopebringer, showing a diagram of an arena.
The interior of Dissident Whispers, on the pages for Hopebringer, showing a diagram of an arena.

What other projects have you worked on that you’ve brought forward knowledge to working on Dissident Whispers?

I have been working on writing and laying out a Mothership Hack called Gordinaak for way to long, and recently released a very dumb nega tower called ‘Why is there a Wizards Tower in this Dump?’ on Itch with my writing partner. 

Tell me about Dissident Whispers. What kicked off such a project concept and how did it come together? What’s the pitch?

Dissident Whispers is a collaborative compilation of adventures for various systems. For me, it all started when I saw a message on Exalted Funeral’s Discord looking for volunteers to do various pieces for a project. As we were talking about logistics the projects founder, Silver Goat, mentioned posting on the Mothership Discord. It just so happened that I warden there (moderate) so I reached out to Sean Mccoy about it and then it just kinda took off. As far as a pitch goes I’m pretty terrible at that so I guess it’s a book with a bunch of dungeons and adventures so anyone who plays games needs it.

The interior of Dissident Whispers showing the Mirstone Manor adventure - on one page, a detailed map, and on the other, an unusual pink creature.
The interior of Dissident Whispers showing the Mirstone Manor adventure – on one page, a detailed map, and on the other, an unusual pink creature.

How is planning the content of such a project impacted by the increased focus on inclusivity and a specific message?

I think for everyone involved it was different, some people made things that were topical while others did stuff that was standard adventure fare. For instance one of the adventure’s I did layout for, Hopebringer, was very stick it to the man and defeat the oppressors. 

What are some examples of the adventures in Dissident Whispers that players will have to dig into?

There are soooooo many, I did the layout for Hopebringer, and Rhemati’s Spring, both very different, both system agnostic. There are some really interesting ones for Mork Borg, and I actually played one for Mothership called Ghost Ship, on the night we finished everything, which was amazing.

The interior of Dissident Whispers, focusing on the College of Acoustic Ministration, showing alien creatures and men with lobster hands.
The interior of Dissident Whispers, focusing on the College of Acoustic Ministration, showing alien creatures and men with lobster hands.

What were some of the best parts of working on this project and putting together the collection for players to experience?

My favorite part was probably watching a flood of talented people get involved, one day it was a few people then the next the discord exploded. It was just amazing watching everything develop and how cohesive everyone was moving as a unit. I’m still in awe of what was accomplished.

The interior of Dissident Whispers showing the Snake Temple Abduction adventure, with a beautiful illustration on the right page in blue and white and a simple but useful map in blue and white on the left, along with the guiding text.
The interior of Dissident Whispers showing the Snake Temple Abduction adventure, with a beautiful illustration on the right page in blue and white and a simple but useful map in blue and white on the left, along with the guiding text.

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Thank you so much to Jeremy for the interview (and the amazing layout!)! Check out Dissident Whispers and help support justice for those in need!